Apple considered 64GB iPhone 4

Ever since video of a new iPhone prototype, sporting 64GB of memory and claiming to be leaked out of Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen, appeared on the 'net this morning, there's been speculation on whether we might see an updated iPhone 4 featuring expanded storage space as shown, or even if we could be witnessing the internal workings of an iPhone 5.

Had M.I.C gadget pulled off a complete coup in getting its hands on an early version of the next Apple handset or is it just a very clever Hong Kong counterfeit?

The answer, it seems, is no. It's neither.

MacRumors.com has debunked any suggestion that the featured prototype is anything but an early in-house model of the current handset, an iPhone 4. Studying the serial number on the back of the device, the site has come up with its own conclusion: "The serial number indicates that this particular prototype was produced in early 2010."

That means it's not a prototype of the iPhone 5, nor a good imitation, but a prototype of the iPhone 4. And that raises a new question entirely: if Apple was testing 64GB storage in the handset, why didn't it make it to general release? Certainly, analysts predicted beforehand that there might be a larger capacity device in the range.

I guess we'll have to wait for the real misplaced iPhone 5 after all. It's bound to happen.

Our senior ed of news and features has been a tech and games journalist for more than 27 years, and has been with Pocket-lint for over five. Rik has edited a number of videogame magazines in the past, was deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice, and his TV career included stints as co-presenter of Channel 4's Gamesmaster and Sky One’s Games World.